January, the month of detox for me. After spending Christmas stuffing my face with chocolates and too much cider glazed ham, it is time to start riding the Christmas pounds. Healthy eating doesn’t have to be boring, this recipe combines all the deep flavours of autumn and winter with a little spicy twist to wake you up during the gloom!

Wild mushrooms have a rich earthy taste to them and whilst they are very cheap, they have an almost meaty taste to them, which will easily satisfy a carnivore any day! This recipe has no cream in so you can treat yourself to a good portion on a cold winter day. So… let’s get started.

Ingredients:

500g wild mushrooms, chopped into quarters (I used a mixture of oyster, shatiki and forestiere, but use your favourites)

75g butter

80g shallots (about 1 and a half echalion shallots)

500ml water

250ml chicken stock (replace with water if veggie)

handful chopped toasted hazelnuts

1 tablespoon chopped lemon thyme

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

In a large frying pan or stock pot, fry your shallots with 25g butter until slightly blonde.

After shallots have browned, add 400g of your chopped mushrooms and fry until they slightly blonde too. Make sure to have a high heat so they don’t stew, as they will go rubbery.

When the mushrooms are browned slightly, add the lemon thyme, hot water and hot chicken stock, bring to a boil then simmer for 20-25 minutes.

Now add the mixture to a liquidiser and blitz until smooth (use a hand blender if you want), after it has been blitzed return to the pan and keep warm.

Fry the remaining mushrooms and hazelnuts in a frying pan along with the paprika, this will give them a beautiful orange colour.

Place the soup in a bowl and top with the sautéed mushrooms and hazelnuts.

It is as easy and tasty as that! As always, would be great to hear from you, what mushrooms did you use?